Last Day in Istanbul!

What a wonderful last day!! Just fabulous!

It started with a late wake up... well that was the plan at least. I was up at 6:30 am and read until the 9am alarm. Almost finished my second book!

Once Feni and I were done breakfast we headed to the post office... she needed to send some closes to Italy. It was so cheap to send her 10 kg package for $50 for 15 day delivery! Crazy!!

We then met up with two of our tour-mates who had an extra day and we headed down for a Bosphorus cruise. It was a perfect storm for sea sickness... We arrived 20 minutes early to ensure we got seat on the right side to be able to see everything, there were boats coming and going so the waves were up and down and back and forth, and we were stoppped near three fish bread restaurants (think nasty fish smell). Talk about Bleck! I'm so glad I stuck it out because there were completely spectacular views but the biggest surprise was how close the Istanbul Modern museum was the port. From the map it looks so far...

So as soon as we landed, we split up because I was the only one keen to visit the contemporary art museum. It was so amazing... great art. This is one of my fav pieces.

From there I hunted all over the neighbourhood for a Turkish bath that did not suck. TripAdvisor was pretty harsh on all the ones in my neighbourhood... So I ended up going to the one in the hotel. It was nice to be super clean and shake off all the sunscreen. That was followed by a rest back in the room before we all met up at 8pm for an amazing dinner.

An American tourist we met in a souvenir shop recommended this place that you must have a reservation... he recommended you show up, act really nice, and react sadly when they say everything is reserved and sometimes they will squeeze people in.

We headed now and ask after a table while they all had reserved signs. She said no they were all reserved... Feni said I made the saddest face. At that time the chef and owner walked by... he explained that they don't have any of the Turkish food listed on the menu on the outside. We said, that's great we will eat what you have.

OMG! It was SO SO SO delicious. We decided to try everything. We appetizer we shared two different dishes, asparagus, smoked salmon, cheese and dill and the large scallops. We ordered each a main and when they came, we divided in four portions, we ate one and then switched. We ordered the cherry duck, orange sea bass, lemon salmon, and the amazing-est dish, octopus risotto! For dessert, we shared two desserts... we had the signature dessert of frozen cheesecake and coconut ice with chocolate and strawberries! Delicious!!

Now off to bed and starting the long trek home tomorrow!

 

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Gallipoli and Final Push to Istanbul

Today was a chilly and rainy day and very much inline with the somber places we visited today.

We went to the Gallipoli peninsula and visited the memorials to the soldiers, Australian, New Zealand, and Ottoman Empire. Being Canadian we don't hear much of this battle as just a few Newfoundlanders were involved. We learned about the entire campaign an how tough and trying it really was... plus how poorly organized and planned the Allied campaigns were. This picture is ANZAC or where the Australians and New Zealanders landed. Where they wanted to be was about two miles down the road where it was a sandy beach and not the short beach, open field, dense forest and then treacherous hills.

Hearing the stories of how hopeless the campaign was, how stuck everyone was and the thousands and thousands of young men who lost their lives there before the Allies retreated.

It was very interesting to hear from Mete the Turkish perspective about how they won this battle (although they had lost the war) and how this battle was the unofficial start of Turkey's War for Independence.

What as most impressive (and also made me sob) was the letter that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first President of the Republic of Turkey wrote to Australia and New Zealand that had been made into a huge plaque at one of the many cemeteries. Every year, on ANZAC Day, they have a large memorial service and next year will be the 100 year anniversary of the campaign.

From the last cemetery, we started the last drive back to Istanbul. It's great to be back in a big city! With the few hours we had before dinner, my roommate and I did a little shopping. I stocked up on Turkish Delight, even the yummy chocolate Turkish Delight (that I'm sure is for tourists!) We got some great shots of the New Mosque (in a place when new is 200 years old!)

We had one final dinner with the group tonight and Mete took us to a awesome Turkish restaurant. So good that many of us thing we will be back tomorrow for dinner!

One last day tomorrow in Istanbul before I start the long trek home!

 

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Birthday Flat Tire, Troy, and Cheesecake

We were up and out the door at 9:30 on our way to visit Troy and a car drove by honking to the same wheel that had caused us to stop previously. The drive stopped and got our and obviously thought he could drive us to the service station. No more than a kilometer late BAM blow out, the wheel was totally shredded. Off to the side of the road we went.

 

Remembering the last time I grabbed by book on the way out... which made for 2 hours of leisurely, side of the road reading while there was a series of debacles... the tire iron was too big, the spare tire was flat. In the end, they had to buy a new tire and then drive it back. By this time it was noon so we drove a bit down the road and stopped for lunch.

 

After lunch we were off for the 2.5 hour trek to Troy. I have to admit the van rides are starting to wear on me. While the travel time is getting smaller the rides seem to get longer and longer. At least we now only have on trek, the trek back to Istanbul.

 

Troy was fun! You need a lot of imagination to imagine what was once there, now it's some strategically place rubble. It was neat to see Athena's temple and some of the very very old structures. The photo below is a close up shot of one of the ceiling tiles.

 

From there we headed to Çanakkale were our hotel is (only 30 minute drive!) and we were given only a hour of free time. I took advantage of the time to just relax, read a bit of my book and get ready for birthday dinner! On the way there we came across the Trojan Horse that was used in the move Troy!

 

Dinner was great, Mete took us to another fabulous restaurant. I had a whole bunch of stuff but I got birthday cake at the end! Yeah Birthday Cheesecake!

 

Heading to bed soon as it will be a super early morning (7:45 start!!)

 

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Off to Ephesus and Dining by the Sea

It was an early morning this morning with good reason... we were going to Ephesus an ancient Greek and Roman city. It's a huge tourist attraction so it was key that we get there before the bus loads of tourists started heaving their hoards into Ephesus.

Mete is great guide and explained so much to this amazing city. I don't know what I was thinking but I was not overly well prepared for this adventure... I forgot my hat and water but managed to tough it out without too much of a problem. We enterer through the main area and was able to see where the Roman bath was as well as the temple where the fire of Olympus was kept.

Down the hill from that was the hospital, with the serpent and the front gate. Down the main road was the wealthy people homes... and of course you can only see those for an additional fee. Which I forked over just to be out of the sun. As it turned out to be a peak at how the rich folks lived and see the beautiful ways they decorated their homes and the amazing mosaics.

We then headed down to the library. It was so beautiful and amazingly restored. One of my tour-mates had been hear 40 years earlier and the library was just rubble on the ground.

We then headed to the amphitheater that held 24,000 people. We exited through the gladiator entrance. That hall was super eerie, you could almost feel the fear still seeping through the walls.

From there we all piled into the van and headed to one of the best lunches we have had. It was super delicious baked pita with stuffing, absolutely divine! We then visited the Artemis' Temple or rather the rubble remains of the temple.

Then the very long haul van ride to Ayvalik a nice town on the Aegean Sea. First order of business was dinner. My roommate and I headed out together to grab a bit to eat and we decided to try out Kumpir or basically a fully loaded baked potato. Turkey appears to LOVE their carbs! I think I've had more white bread in the last two weeks than I've had in the last 10 years.

I'm writing this post from the restored Ottoman mansion we are staying in tonight. The views from the terrace are beautiful and even though it's nearly 9pm the weather out here is an absolutely perfect temperature. Not too hot and not too cold.

Tomorrow we are off to Troy!

 

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A flat tire, a cooking lesson, and baklava!

All in all a very busy day today. What was to be only a three hour drive was much longer when one of my tour-mates noticed that the tire was nearly flat. A short drive the gas / service station next door and they patched it up (not very well because it was flat again by the time we got to Selçuk.

Before we got to Selçuk, our tour guide asked us if we wanted to have lunch with a local woman who gives a cooking demonstration and then serves lunch. Given that the best meals we have had so far have been at people homes we jumped at the chance to go again.

She had prepared a feast! As well as a demonstration on how to make the now familiar cheese rolled pastry and red lentil balls called Mercimek Kötesi (for my tour mates I agreed to put the recipe below.)

From there we headed into town and had two hours of free time. With my free time I headed up to the Virgin Mary's Home where she died which is now a little chapel. It was pretty and was an extremely well timed visit between the very large caravans of tour buses dumping tourists by the hundreds at the site.

We then headed to Sirince it literally means cute. It's an old Greek village and when this land was taken back during Turkey's independence, Greek people returned to Greece and Turkish people (in Greece) came to Turkey. Kinda a forced migration. They have kept the town looking a bit like Greece but it's basically shopping now. I bought a pomegranate juice... EEP! It was sour! (but also delicious!)

We then headed out for a city walk though the Saturday market and had a Turkish dinner in town followed by some Baklava. Mete says this is the best place in town!

 

Mercimek Kötesi

1 cup red lentils

1 cup fine bulgur

1 medium onion, diced

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1-2 Tbsp tomato paste

1-2 tsp black pepper

1-2 tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

1 bunch green onions (only the green parts)

handful of parsley

handful of dill

Put lentils in pot and just cover with water, cook until soft tender. Add in bulgur, cover and let stand.

Heat olive oil in skillet and add onions. Sauté until translucent, add in tomato paste.

In a large bowl combine lentils and onions. Mix in remaining ingredient and mush with hands to made oblong shaped rolls of awesomeness. Enjoy.

 

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Rough Start followed by Rough Feet!

Today started with an epic huge storm in Kas, it blew out the power (bye-bye air conditioning!) and basically filled the streets and created pools of water everywhere in the hotel.

I was one of the last to the van meaning I had the pleasure of sitting in the back. As soon as I sat down I knew it wasn't going to be good because the road was by the ocean, twisting and turning. I downed a Gravol and hoped I could make it until the drugs could start working. I wasn't that lucky... I was never so glad to stop at a rest stop ever!

It was a long four hour journey and the Gravol was making me drowsy and grumpy. Only to arrive at the crumbiest hotel by far and with no wi-fi in the rooms (seriously?!)

I was very much looking forward to Pamukkale but it had not started at all well. Luckily, it got better. We took the bus to the top of Pamukkale (cotton castle) or Hierapolis (holy city). Mete told us hat the water here has healing powers and that is why there is a huge Necropolis just outside the city gate. We pointed out that the water maybe not so healing considering the size of the cemetery.

We wandered through the Necropolis and into the Roman city of Hierapolis. I got some great photos.

I decided to skip the other Roman ruins including the theatre and head down to the healing waters. You are not allowed to wear shoes when walking down so you feet get a "gentle" massage as you make you way down. There are tons of tourists but it was a beautiful walk.

On to the next adventure (that I'm really hoping is not a four hour drive away!)

 

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Mediterranean Sea Cruise and Pure Relaxation

We slept in yesterday and walked around the town before our very leisurely 10:30 check out time. From there we drove a couple of hours to Kekova stopping at the birthplace of Santa Claus along the way! The St. Nickolas church and museum was a bit too rich to visit so I took a couple of shots from outside.

Once we got to Kekova, we boarded a boat (I had taken Gravol when we left Antalya) for an over night cruise. The sea was so blue and beautiful, we got to stop a few places to swim. The water had warm and very cold patches so you were constantly swimming to find a warm spot.

Just as we got out of the water the ice cream man arrived, just like the dicky-dee with bells and everything, only he's on a boat not a bike. It was awesome drying in the sun eating a ice cream!

From there we found a calm place and dropped anchor for the night. We had an amazing dinner of hot mezes and fish. We then hung out and played cards until it was dark and time to make out way to the roof of the board to fall asleep under the stars. The stars were amazing. There was some light from the near by port but besides that it was completely clear. You could see the Milky Way and I saw two shooting stars.

Best of all I didn't feel sick at all due to the 12 hour Gavol I bought in Canada. That's magic stuff!

The next morning we were greeted with a great spread of breakfast and more swimming before it was time to head back to the dock.

Once on land we drove the short way to Kas for a free day of sun and shopping. It is so freaking hot here!

I spent the day sunning myself and reading. We had a group dinner at 6:30 and I had the most delicious fresh grilled calamari.

I'm so excited for tomorrow... there are so many highlights on this trip but I'm so looking forward to Pamukkale, and we head there tomorrow!

 

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A Love for Konya

We left Cappadocia early and were well on our way into the five hour drive to Konya when we stopped at a Caravanserai. These were spaced across the country every 40K (the distance that one camel can make without stopping). Inside was rooms for travelers and their camels. Caravaners could stay for 3 days for free and they could sell their wears to the town folk before they moved on to the next Caravanserai. The photo is of the mosque that was suspended above the ground level for cleanliness.

From there we all piled back in the van and were off to Konya. When we got there we stopped at the Mevlana Museum. We first learned about him when we went to the Whirling Dirvish show. The museum is part mosque and mausoleum as well as explanation on the process of becoming Dirvishs. His seven principles are really inspiring although right now we seem to be over using #1 "In generosity and helping others, be like a river." particularly when the bill for lunch arrives.

Speaking of lunch, we then had lunch just outside the museum. More turkish pizza but at least this time I split with a fellow tour traveller. Much less waste!

We then headed to Çatalhöyük, an archeological site that had over 8,800 year old civilization. They build on top of previous civilization and one of the most interesting aspects is that they buried their dead under the floors of their homes. There were also no doors so it appears that people came into their homes from the roof.

From there we headed to a tiny village in Konya. We were staying with a local family and it was AWESOME! The food was the best we have had so far and the bed was spectacular after the lumpiness of my previous beds.

The father of the family (and as it turns out the sheriff of the town) took us around the town showing us interesting things, including his local mosque. When it started to pour rain, we ducked into a local shop and they brought us chairs and poured us Coke to wait out the rain. I guess it helps to be in with the cops!

We headed out early for Antalya through the mountain range (read car sickness), the views were absolutely amazing with the mountains and trees. A beautiful (if not also nauseating) ride though the countryside of Turkey. Before we arrived in Antalya we stopped for lunch at this roadside place and I had bean salad. It was so good, it had sesame paste, olive oil, eggs, and beans... sounds rich, and it was, but it was also delicious!

We then arrived in Antalya and we had free time!! Some of us stuck together and we did a circuit of the main sights with some beautiful ocean views and headed down to the coast and we all shared some Turkish white wine and the beautiful sunset view. It is so beautiful here it's painful... the photos do not do the view justice.

We decided to head back and go our for dinner at 8pm. We wanted around and decided on a place. I have to admit that I needed a break from Turkish food. So I had an salad and pasta. It was a nice break (but not a great attempt at Italian food!)

We then went out with Mete, our tour leader to cheer on Galatasarai, his football team is playing a Belgium team tonight. I left at half-time and it was still 0-0 but from the cheers outside I think it is going well.

Speaking of well, I've officially well. Still a cough here and there but all in all I'm feeling fantastic!

**Note there will be no blog post tomorrow as I'll be spending the night on a boat! My flippy-floppies are ready!**

 

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Day of Great Relaxation

It was a complete relaxing day today. I slept in until 7:30, I am still feeling ill but I'm also sick of being sick. So, I've started to take the Advil Cold and Flu I brough with me to Turkey... feels great to not be coughing up a storm or to be constantly blowing my nose. One of my tour-mates gave me a cold and flu to mix into hot water, I'm going to give that a go tonight.

After breakfast we headed out on a light hike through the hills of Cappadocia towards the little town where we had dinner with the local family. It was a light hike with some amazing views of where people lived in the mountains.

From there we headed to see the Fairy Chimneys created by the two densities of rock created be volcano eruptions millions of years ago. There are so many and so very beautiful, if not a bit phallic.

From there we headed for lunch where I had Lahmacun, which is another type of Turkish "pizza" where you added parsley, lemon, and onions. I held on the onions but it was delicious. You load it up and then roll it up and eat it a bit like a wrap. We they had the dessert speciality of this place which has thin strings of dough with a mild cheese in the middle with a syrup and pistachios sprinkled on top. Most desserts are painfully sweet here, but this one wasn't, it was really delicious!

From there we want to the pottery shop where we watch an expert potter in action. He made a perfect teapot in about 5 minutes. Amazing stuff as he cut the teapot in half and you can see how perfect the work was all the way through.

From there we headed back to the hotel and then on to a Hamman. So freakin' amazing! It starts with a mud face mask and then sitting in steam for 10 minutes then a shower followed by being completely scrubbed down by one lady then a 10 minute message with bubbles to be super clean. From there they dump bowls full of warm water and wrap you in fluffy towels and show you to a rest area for apple tea.

I paid extra for a 30 minute 'medical' massage which was so amazing even when she was pulling my arms behind my head... I felt a bit like a sail on a sailboat!

I skipped the Turkish night tonight that was planned. I need an early night to recoup and get better.

Time to down the New Zealand drink remedy and hope that I wake up well tomorrow!

** I had to remove all the photos because the internet connection is so slow it's failing to upload the photos. I will try and add them to the next post in two days as I will not have internet in our village stay tomorrow.**

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Phobia Day

Today was a very early morning start! I was up at 4:45 to be ready, dressed and in the lobby for our transfer for the hot air balloon ride. I didn't sleep overly well as I was completely paranoid about missing the flight!

Morning came and we were off for the balloon ride and I have to admit it easily ranks top as one of my best life experiences. The views were breathtaking and all the other balloons on the air made for some significantly awesome views.

We then came back to the hotel for breakfast and to change, we were off at 9am for the Göreme Open Air Museum or the Churches of Göreme. Many of the early Christians made their homes in the lava rocks because it was easy to carve out a home. They also created churches because they had to be able to hide quickly and remain unnoticed.

Some of the churches were primitive and others very detailed! Almost a progressive improvement of fresco paintings. They were all very beautiful. Unfortunately there were no photos allowed in the churches but I did spot some of the more primary stuff outside and snapped a pic.

What was not cool was the number of tourists at this museum. It was ridiculous, big bus loads of impatient and annoying tourists. I was very happy to be leaving when it was time to go.

We then headed to a carpet store and got the speech on Turkish carpets. It was interesting but I'm not quite at the point where I have $600 and nothing better to buy with it than a Turkish carpet... maybe next time I'm in Turkey. The free "while you buy" Turkish coffee was quite nice!

From there we headed to lunch and I had a Turkish pizza (for the life of me I can't remember the proper name for it) and it was super long and extremely delicious.

At this point I started to cough and cough and cough and cough. I have developed one of those nagging persistent coughs, so much so that I had to invest (and I mean invest, they cost a freakin' fortune) in Turkish cough drops. Not bad... Exactly the same in Canada.

But I wasn't going to miss anything! So I carried on and we visited the Underground City of Derinkuyu. It was an entire city underground. They raised livestock, made wine, even created a graveyard down there. There were tiny tiny passage ways where you had to almost crawl through. One of the over 6' guys actually crab-walked down the last bit of the narrowest cave.

So in the end it really was Phobia day because in the morning we worked on fear of heights and in the afternoon we worked on fear of enclosed places.

From there we had some free time, my plan was to swim in the pool but the water was freakin' freezing! At 7pm we were then off to a birthday dinner! I wasn't very hungry so I had some soup. I seriously need to know how to make Göreme Wedding Soup, it's delicious!!

On the advice of one of my tour-mates I asked for some hot water, lemon, and honey in the hopes of lessen my cough. The waiters brought all three in separate glasses and watch as an mixed them all together. I think this may have been a first time for them too! It helped but once I start going, I hack and hack and hack. That didn't stop me from going our for a quick drink with the others going out after dinner. I let Mete, our tour leader, convince me that Jägermeister would help with my cough... ha ha. But it was nice to be out!

 

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Whirlingly Wicked Awesome Day

Today was a super long day but a great one! We started out early to see a bit of Ankara before we leave today for Cappadocia. First stop was an off the itinerary stop at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Way back it won best museum in Europe and it's so clear why, particularly as they have just finished completely renovating it. What a stark contract between this and the archeological museum in Istanbul. Some really spectacular stuff. This topper of a staff used in worship was one of my favourite items in the museum.

There are two Geocachers on our tour and they came back saying they had found one right near the museum. We were all very curious so we all wanted to se where and what it is... so they gave us the coordinates and hint and we started looking. Dale found the tiny geocache. In the photo too is Mete our leader who signed the geocache saying the Absolute Turkey Tour had found it too.

From there we headed to Anitkabir the mausoleum for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Leader of the Turkish War of Independence, and Founder and First President of the Republic of Turkey. Really beautiful museum and all the work he did in such a short period of time. Really inspiring. It's much bigger than it looks in the photos!

Quick stop for lunch where a few of the tour members decided to go for a swing while we waited for our lunch!

We were then on the road for five hours heading for Cappadocia. We did stop briefly at a beautiful salt lake. Lots and lots of salt! Followed by another stop at for ice cream, yum!

We then headed to our hotel... Which well, it a bit of a reality check since the last one... besides the no A/C, The room is a bit bigger than a closet with two single beds almost mushed together... although the funniest thing is the TV remote is 1/3 the size of the TV screen. CRAZY! Not that we are going to be watching much TV. Certainly no tub!

After dropping all out stuff of we headed for dinner with a Turkish family. It was FREAKIN' delicious! We had great herb salad, traditional cheese pastries, tomato and wheat soup, eggplant stuffed with minced beef, and baklava. Food was so tasty and the family so welcoming. BEST dinner to date! First photo is the view from the room we ate dinner in.

After the dinner we headed to the Whirling Dervishes, it's a UNESCO Intangible Heritage. It was very beautiful both the singling and the whirling.

Now off to bed because I need to be up and ready for 5am start for the balloon ride.

 

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